Stuart: A Life Backwards
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Review
‘Unique and wonderful.’ Daily Mail
‘Possibly the best biography I have ever read.’ Mark Haddon
‘This is a very rare and haunting book … A great first book.’ Andrew O'Hagan
'Good books like this appear about once every five years. It's been years since I've been so delighted by a book and so surprised by it … When I'd finished I felt bereft, as if I'd lost an old friend.' Zadie Smith
‘Utterly compelling and very funny.’ Daily Telegraph
‘One of the most remarkable and touching biographies I’ve ever read.’ Minette Marin, Sunday Times
'I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that I hardly know where to begin … My enthusiasm feels almost limitless. A page-turner.' Observer
'Funny and original, a startling book … By the end I was doubled up in tears, but throughout I was often doubled up with laughter. It is dazzling.' Vogue
'A remarkable biography. Unforgettably moving. A gripping read.' Tim Lott, Sunday Times
‘A comedy of errors and horrors deftly handled and with a terrifically droll sense of humour.’ Melanie McGrath, Evening Standard
'With his first book, Alexander Masters … has achieved something remarkable. He has, without patronising, given a voice to the "underclass"; at the same time, without preaching, he shows us the value of even the most damaged of human lives … a powerful book, humane, instructive and entirely original. Sunday Telegraph
‘Alexander Masters has given us a delight … I recommend it unhesitatingly. Any member of the public should read this. And anyone working to help the homeless will read it, recognising both the triumph and the despair ingrained in aiding Stuarts anywhere.’ Roof, magazine for Shelter
‘[A] marvellous biography. A highly original celebration of humanity.’ Scotsman
Daily Mail
'Stuart Shorter bursts off every page of this extraordinary book'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
266 of 271 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Tne story of Stuart Shorter is the story of a person nobody wants to know- the homeless 'nutter', the beggar, the addict, the offender. Nobody that is, except, for reasons that aren't at first clear even to him, Alexander Masters, a hostel worker who stumbles across Stuart begging in Cambridge. Their relationship is unique in literature, one is an illiterate yob and the other is an ex-boarding-school pupil and do-gooder. Somehow they immediately connect and as their touching relationship unfolds and Stuart's life is rewound, you realise that this nutter is a truly amazing human being. His biographer brings him to life so brilliantly it is impossible not to howl (mentally at least) with laughter at their adventures at the Home Office, Stuart's incisive insights, and then at the agony of the inevitable tragedies. Brilliant, buy it, be moved and then wonder how much potential is in all those homeless 'scum' asking for change from downtrodden commuters on their way to and from work.
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading this book and am deeply moved by it. The story of Stuart, a homeless, rage filled man is brilliantly captured by the author, and certainly leaves you thinking. Even reading some of the awful things Stuart has done, you are still left feeling that he is someone you would want to get to know. The conclusion is emotional, and made me feel lost for words. Well worth the read - I couldn't put it down.
53 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you pick up this book and read the many, many comments and rave reviews, you'll see that this book is a must read this year.
This is the story of Stuart, a chronic homeless man who from an early age has sniffed glue, done heroin, abused booze, been abused, been to prison... you name it and it probably has happened to him. It is almost as much a story about the author as it is about Stuart, detailing their relationship and the troubles Alexander Masters has putting Stuarts life down on paper.
And that is what makes this book worth a read - there are no clear answers, no solutions and no holds barred, just like in life itself. Stuart himself asked Alexander to write the book backwards, from his present life back to when he was a young boy and when he 'first discovered violence'. This could have been more effective if countless to-ing and fro-ing between the present and the past had been avioded but i think the author felt it important to convey the mixed up nature of Stuart's world.
If you want to open your mind and take in the account of one man who has had had a traumatic life and understandably has had difficulty coming to terms with what has happened to him, then this is your book. We see homeless people everyday but never stop to think about who they are and why they are there. We judge them instantly and avoid contact with them because they remind us of the dark side of society.
It's easier to think of homeless people as 'dangerous others' who desearve what they have got and could change their circumstances if they tried - Stuart will change this for you and put a real story and a real face to this group of unfortunate people.
This is the story of Stuart, a chronic homeless man who from an early age has sniffed glue, done heroin, abused booze, been abused, been to prison... you name it and it probably has happened to him. It is almost as much a story about the author as it is about Stuart, detailing their relationship and the troubles Alexander Masters has putting Stuarts life down on paper.
And that is what makes this book worth a read - there are no clear answers, no solutions and no holds barred, just like in life itself. Stuart himself asked Alexander to write the book backwards, from his present life back to when he was a young boy and when he 'first discovered violence'. This could have been more effective if countless to-ing and fro-ing between the present and the past had been avioded but i think the author felt it important to convey the mixed up nature of Stuart's world.
If you want to open your mind and take in the account of one man who has had had a traumatic life and understandably has had difficulty coming to terms with what has happened to him, then this is your book. We see homeless people everyday but never stop to think about who they are and why they are there. We judge them instantly and avoid contact with them because they remind us of the dark side of society.
It's easier to think of homeless people as 'dangerous others' who desearve what they have got and could change their circumstances if they tried - Stuart will change this for you and put a real story and a real face to this group of unfortunate people.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
the odd couple
The odd, ridgid, acerbic style of Masters writing contrasts perfectly with the lovable nutter that is Stuart Shorter and hence this book is compelling and even moving at... Read more
Published 1 month ago by thetruthshallsetyefree
a truly eye opening lesson for everyone who makes assumptions
I watched the BBC production of this book in a training course. I then bought the book which as always is far more informative. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Wickham
Not a misery memoir, but a gripping frightening interesting true story
This biography is not a misery memoir, but a gripping frightening interesting true story.
I was a bit reluctant to start the book, bad news all over the place, but once... Read more
I was a bit reluctant to start the book, bad news all over the place, but once... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ransen Owen
A great read!
Stuart: A Life Backwards is a great read. It is the biography of a homeless man, who in many respects, is no different from any homeless man we may pass on the street. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ms Beverley A. Randall
will read again!!
loved the style and pace of the biography. Stuart was a real character and am glad to have read about him, it has certainly given me an insight into the lives of homeless people.
Published 11 months ago by Bex
A must-read
This book should be made compulsory for GCSE students. Anyone who can read this book and not be moved must be very hard indeed. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. A. GOODHEAD
Stuart: lived life to the full
Quite simply the best book I've read in ages. In turn harrowing and amusing, Alexander Masters and of course Stuart Shorter are both to be congratulated on creating a book of the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jon Rose
Stunning biography about a complicated man
Alexander Masters first meets Stuart Shorter on the streets of Cambridge where Stuart threatens to kill himself. Read more
Published 14 months ago by quippe
Is it just me...?
I was given a copy of 'Stuart' on World Book Night, and I really, really wanted it to be as brilliant as people said it was. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Daisy Wang
Amazing book
I got to this book years later than most; not unusual for me. I read it in a day, because I could not put it down. Read more
Published 15 months ago by midnightmuse
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